


Coming Out

by sonofthanatos



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Friendship, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 14:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19201165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonofthanatos/pseuds/sonofthanatos
Summary: Just a drabble on Nico coming out to Will. The beginning is based on some fan art I saw on Tumblr but can't find now.





	Coming Out

    Nico never knew whether to laugh at Percy and Jason, to run away from them, or to hug them and never let go.  
  
    On the one hand, they were his friends and they made sure to look after him. They had movie nights with him, made sure to visit and hang out with him when there was time, and made sure if he needed somebody to talk to or some help at least one of them was there for him (within reason; Nico had firmly drawn the line when his friends, after talking about their relationships, had made a fumbling effort to talk to him about boys). On the other, they were ridiculously over-protective of him, working overtime to keep him safe from imaginary threats. The fact that the son of Jupiter and the son of Poseidon were both close friends and intensely competitive over everything didn’t help matters, as they had recently gotten into it over who was the better big brother to Nico. The fact that the son of Hades had never asked for or wanted anybody in that role didn’t seem to matter.  
  
    That argument had led to his present humiliation; he stood in the middle of camp, Percy on one side and Jason on the other, both boys wrapping their arms around him and trapping him in the middle of their hug prison as they bickered.  
  
    “Back off, Jason. I was Nico’s big bro first!”  
  
    “Maybe when you start acting like it!”  
  
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
  
    At that point the two began bickering loudly, talking over each other and drawing the stares of other campers. Nico took advantage of their distraction to duck down, slowly slipping out of their arms, and managed to escape, quickly darting away. He hurried towards his own cabin, only to crash into Will Solace. Both boys stumbled back. Will looked annoyed, but his eyes sparkled as he took in who he had run into.  
  
    “Hey Doom-and-Gloom, where are you off to in such a hurry?”  
  
    Ordinarily Nico never missed an opportunity to match wits with Will; unlike most campers, the son of Apollo never seemed to be at all afraid of him. In fact, no matter how blunt Nico got, Will would give it right back to him, and Nico was rather frustrated with the fact that he never seemed to win an argument. Right now, however, there were bigger concerns.  
  
    He glanced back and Will followed his gaze, taking in the ridiculous sight of Percy and Jason effectively holding each other while fighting over who got to be his big brother without realizing the object of their fight had escaped. He looked back at Will, trying to ignore the amused smile that crossed his face and fighting back how good Will looked when he was happy.  
  
    “Quickly, this way!” To his surprise, Will grabbed his wrist and towed him away, hurrying him over to Cabin 7. Nico had never been inside the Apollo cabin before, and he was surprised by how it looked inside. He had expected it to look similar to its outward appearance, gold and flashy; instead it was blank white walls, cedar beams, and bunk beds. He liked the look of it. Normally it would be bustling with energy, but surprisingly they were the only ones inside.  
  
    Closing the door, Will began to shake. Nico was worried for a moment that he was crying or scared, but annoyance filled him when he realized the taller boy was laughing.  
  
    “It’s not funny!”  
  
    “You have to admit it kind of is. They’re just hugging each other at this point, not even realizing you aren’t there. Some big brothers!”  
  
    Nico couldn’t help the giggle that escaped.  
  
    Will looked delighted. “I made you laugh! I knew you had a sense of humor in there somewhere!”  
  
    “I’m not a complete monster, you know.”  
  
    “No, you’re not. You’re crabby, ridiculous, and you don’t look after yourself, but you’re not a monster.”  
  
    Nico rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the first few comments. “I look after myself just fine.”  
  
    “Really?” Will’s eyes narrowed. “Since I let you out of the infirmary, you haven’t let me or anybody else look at your scars or do any kind of follow-up exam. You insist on shadow-travelling even though everybody’s told you how dangerous it is, you’re better at eating but you still need to gain some weight and some color, and you-“  
  
    “NICO!”  
  
    Nico ducked down behind one of the beds at Jason’s voice. A moment later, the door swung open. “Hey, Solace, have you seen Nico anywhere? We lost sight of him.”  
  
    “I told him he needs to go to the infirmary. Have you checked there?”  
  
    Nico was quite impressed at Will’s ability to tell the truth while at the same time lying through his teeth. The door closed and he stood up.  
  
    “Thanks,” He grudgingly offered.  
  
    “No worried, Death Boy.” Nico gritted his teeth at that stupid nickname. “You can hide here for a while if you want. My siblings are handling the infirmary right now, but I have the afternoon off.”  
  
    Nico nodded, turning to study the collection of books against the wall in a shelf underneath a large mirror. Most of them seemed to be stories about Apollo, but there were a few general histories there.  
  
    Will was still talking behind him. His voice sounded strange for some reason, almost as though he was forcing himself to sound casual. “You know what you need? A girlfriend. Somebody who can chase those guys away and force you to take better care of yourself. If there’s a girl you have your eye on, hurry up and make your move.”  
  
    Nico tensed. Despite his conversation with Percy, he was still really nervous about revealing the truth. He had kept it buried for so long. On the other hand, Jason had taken it very well, and Percy (after his initial shock) had hunted him down, reassured him they were still friends, and hugged him tightly. Annabeth seemed fine with it too, even finding it funny watching Percy react. They had been good, but they had known him. They were his friends. Will was an annoyance, albeit one that had found an irritating but undeniable place in his heart. If Will said anything, Nico didn’t think he could handle it. At the same time, he now had two big brother figures who would protect him if necessary, and Will seemed so open about things…  
  
    Without daring to look up, he pulled a random book off the shelves and said “Actually I’m gay.”  
  
    There was silence for a moment, and Nico felt his heart clench with fear. His eyes flipped to the mirror, prepared in case he needed to defend himself…  
  
    Will's eyes were lit up with excitement, a broad grin on his face. "Really?" He sat down, smiling at Nico. "Me too, actually."  
  
    "Oh." Nico wasn't sure what to do now; he had never knowingly been in the same room as another gay man. Especially not an empty room, with that man's bed so close..."I didn't know there were other gay guys here."  
  
    "There's a few of us, and the Aphrodite cabin is almost entirely bi or pansexual."  
  
    Nico decided not to ask what that meant for now. "Cool."  
  
    "Yeah." Will smiled warmly at him. "So is there a boy you have your eyes on?"  
  
    Nico turned bright red. Will laughed with delight and pulled him down so they were sitting side by side. "What are you reading?"  
  
    Nico glanced at the title. "The 20th century for dummies. A general world history." It was actually a good idea to brush up on events taking place after Mussolini took office. "I figure I should get caught up."  
  
    "Good idea. You can borrow that if you want."   
  
    "Thanks."  
  
    The rest of the afternoon Nico sat in the Apollo cabin reading. Will was reading too, but both boys were thinking about their brief conversation. Thinking very hard about it.


End file.
